Stands against the abuse of Human Right in all forms
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Feds assisting family of city man jailed in Ethiopia - Winnipeg Free Press
THE Canadian government is looking into the case of a Winnipeg man jailed in Ethiopia, while his friends and family in Transcona worry and wonder how to help.
Fewaz Hargaaya, 26, was arrested earlier this month on a visit to the country he fled as a five-year-old with his family.
He was arrested for having walkie-talkies and held because he is Oromo, an ethnic group struggling for self-determination. After his arrest, police found sponsorship documents he brought from Canada that are critical of the Ethiopian government's treatment of its people. His sister, Iftu, who lives in Winnipeg, said the government has accused him of being involved with the Oromo Liberation Front.
The man's family hasn't been able to contact him since he was locked up in Dire Dawa in one of Ethiopia's notorious prisons.
The Canadian government is trying to help.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Affairs is aware of the detention of a Canadian citizen in Ethiopia," said spokesman Claude Rochon in Ottawa. "Consular officials in Addis Ababa and in Ottawa are providing consular assistance to the family."
Rochon wouldn't comment further because of privacy regulations.
After reading about Hargaaya's plight Tuesday, school friends from Transcona were upset.
"He was just a great guy, super-friendly all the time," said Randi Dewar, who attended Murdoch MacKay Collegiate. She was contacted by several people concerned about the young man they grew up with in Transcona, and got in touch with the Free Press.
"For something like this to happen is absolutely shocking," she said. "In Transcona, everyone knows everyone and people want to help."
For now, there is nothing anyone can do.
Someone from the Canadian consulate in Ethiopia has been given permission to see him in jail, but not until "sometime next week," said Janine Legal, a friend of Fewaz's mother.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Besigye arrested minutes after leaving Kasangati home Daily Monito- National |
Dr. Kizza Besigye at his home in Kasangati after he was discharged from Kampala hospital on Thursday 14th. PHOTO BY ISAAC KASAMANI
Uganda opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye has been arrested minutes after leaving his home in Kasangati as he planned to renew protests over the rising cost of living in the country, police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba confirms. Kasangati is a small town in Wakiso District, central Uganda.
"Dr Besigye was arrested as he left his house this morning and is being held in Kasangati" police station on the outskirts of Kampala, Alice Alaso, secretary general of Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change, told AFP.
Dr Besigye's arrest is the third time within a period of 14 days since the walk-to-work campaign began in Kampala before spreading to other major upcountry towns.
President Museveni also said his government would not tolerate disruptive demonstrations. President Museveni said, “Is Besigye going to bring rain by walking?” he asked, “We shall deal with them (demonstrators) decisively. They will not cause any trouble, nothing.”In a Sunday interview, President Museveni, in his first address to the nation on the crippling inflation and walk-to-work campaign said he will not seek a dialogue with his main political challenger, Dr Kizza Besigye, to end the growing opposition that has engineered several unrest over increased living costs.
The arrests of Opposition leaders like FDC's Dr. Kizza Besigye, DP's Norbert Mao, UPC's Olara Otunnu and prominent opposition figures like Kyadondo North MP-elect and IPC spokesperson Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda and many others all over the country can be seen in the light of this tough stand.
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